The post about “I could be the one out there” got me thinking. Do you keep close tabs on your riding partners? I’ve heard stories of guys going into tree wells upside down and suffocating. I also know of an older couple, man and his wife, that we’re riding several years ago in the Gold Lakes area of Northern CA. The wife tipped her sled over on top of herself and by the time her husband found her she had suffocated in the snow as she couldn’t move the sled off herself. Bummer things like this happen.
Do you keep close tabs on riding partners?
- Thread starter deanross
- Start date
Definitely. Always looking back for the guy behind you. Stop if you don’t see them. Doesn’t always work perfectly but we’ve never gotten back to the trucks missing anyone. ??Most of our group now has radios. We stop and discuss our intended location so we can take various lines and when we do we venture with a riding buddy.
Its always good to ride in pairs in a group setting just for tree wells, creeks that are flowing under snow and avalanches. Kind of like a spotter during weight lifting.
Almost to a fault, not so much that I frett over it all day, but being on the receiving end of unnattentive riding partners, I wouldn't want them to experience what I went through in my early riding days. Nothing worse than being in a bad situation, and seeing your party crest the hill, and not to be seen for most of the rest of the day
I spend roughly 70 days every winter riding our local fun spot. When I ride I don't typically call a friend or group, I know most the folks on the mountain and ride with whoever I bump into that day. I make it a point to watch whoever is on the mountain whether I know them or not. This practice allowed me to save the life of a little boy several years ago who was following his brother and father up the mountain. I watched from a distance as the little boy got sucked down the fall line, went into a tree well, and overturned. His father and brother continued up the mountain and had no clue what happened behind them. The boy was trapped under his sled with just a boot sticking out of the snow. I pulled him out from under the sled and he was in big trouble, his breathing evened out over time and he began to cry telling me he was sure he was going to die. After about 20 minutes had passed I was able to get him back on his sled and followed him up the mountain where his father and brother were taking a lunch break. Believe it or not, when we arrived they asked him what took him so long to get there.
Crap happens and can go sideway quick ... Prefer riding with total of 3-5 so it's easier to keep track of everyone ...radios are a help too ..
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It’s really just a matter of watching out for everyone. I posted a little rant on the other thread so I will keep it short.
That’s sad right there.
Eyes on your guys at all times
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Another save that came to mind was a tremendously huge avy that swept through a group of about a half dozen a few years ago. I remember the whole event as if it happened yesterday. As I was on the run in an effort to first save my own life I remember thinking about the group behind me that were caught in it. I was trying to guesstimate how far the slide carried them, and what color all the sleds were in an effort to reconcile who was missing or buried, it's really weird how your head processes details when in the middle of a controlled panic. I had a bad crash crossing a creekbed at about 60 MPH, after getting my crap together and upright, I ran back upslope and started counting, 3 were missing, 2 of them were partially buried and weren't in a life threatening predicament. One person was gone, the guy on the red sled, another rider eventually found the toe of his boot poking out of the snow, we dug like crazy and uncovered a live, very shook up sledder. It turned out to be a good outcome, paying attention to everyone around you whether they are in your group or not can pay big dividends.
Your the type guys we need on the hills. Always on the lookout for others. Good job.
Our group came upon a guy walking down the trail wearing a duster coat and cowboy boots, no cowboy hat though. It was about five more miles back to the parcking lot. He said it was his first time riding a snowmobile. He had rented it in town and was riding with some friends that owned snow mobiles. He got stuck and in the process of getting unstuck had somehow bent the key in the ignition with his knee. He tried to straighten it and it broke off in the ignition. He couldn't turn it and didn't know how to start it without a key. His friends never came back and it was close to getting dark so he started walking back to the truck. Luckily he wasn't far off the groomed trail where he got stuck.
I put him on the back of my seat and we took him back to the sled. I unplugged the ignition so it would start. He rode with our group back to the truck.
My policy is same as Kale's. If you don't see the guy behind you, stop.
I put him on the back of my seat and we took him back to the sled. I unplugged the ignition so it would start. He rode with our group back to the truck.
My policy is same as Kale's. If you don't see the guy behind you, stop.
Last edited:
J
Jaynelson
Well-known member
I will say it's gotten trickier over the years as the sleds, riding techniques, and terrain have all gotten more aggressive. It used to be pretty standard fair to find an open spot or hill and goof around 1 at a time while the rest of the group watched. Now everyone kinda finds their own line through the trees, and pounding the open hills doesn't happen much. So I would say avalanche safety has increased, but the chances of winding up in some smaller scale, but still potentially deadly predicament have also increased. Radios and meeting up every X # of minutes definitely helps, but not bulletproof.
Personality type also relates to safety and is trait that you might want to weigh in on prior to riding with some folks. I know a couple guys that won't stop and help a person in need if their life depended on it, they are the totally self centered narcissistic pricks of the world. I am not sure how these folks came to be, but every now and then you'll meet one. Personally I feel better about helping a friend or total stranger in need than having a great ride and ignoring someone who might need a hand, as they say "It's just the right thing to do".
Probably a boring way to ride for many of you, but typically if we all riding we just getting from one spot to another so everyone should be able to see the guy in front of him. Once we find the feature we are looking for or whatever we typically stop and let one person take a run and the others waiting kill their sleds so we can hear what's going on. Can usually assume even if you can't see someone if the noise cuts out they probably are stuck or over turned. Usually wait 5 minutes and yell to see if they good. After about 10 usually send someone else up to help. If the stuck is bad enough to need more than 1 extra person (pretty rare) at least the 2nd person can come back and relay the info. Usually 2 people can take care of the situation though
One of our guy's broke down on the trail, the rest of his group decided he went back to the room so kept on going. He doesn't ride with them anymore.
I always ride last in my group. Some of the others just don't have the patience to wait for a slower rider. They are great guys, but keeping watch just slips their mind to often. Plus having one person always last keeps it easy for everyone else to know when they can move on.
I always ride last in my group. Some of the others just don't have the patience to wait for a slower rider. They are great guys, but keeping watch just slips their mind to often. Plus having one person always last keeps it easy for everyone else to know when they can move on.
We ride with pac talk radios always and now have BC radios as well. Nothing makes me more crazy than riding with someone who ignores the riding plan of the group and disappears on their own side trip. Gotta be safe and never forget how fast it can go bad.
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